Wire conveyer belt drive



2 SHEETS-SHEET l R. J. GUBA WIRE CONVEYER BELT DRIVE Feb. 17, 1953 FiledDec. 29, 1949 INVENTOR. RAYMOND J. GUBA ATTORNEY Feb. 17, 1953 R. J.GUBA WIRE coNvEYEE BELT DRIVE 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1949 F' 4fg.

R. mm MU VG m J. D N O w A R ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 17, 1953 WIRE CONVEYER BELT "DRIVE 'Raymond J. Guba, Philadelphia, lPa., :assigner :to

Audubon Wire Cloth Corporation, -a corporation of New `JerseyApplication Decemberl29, 1949,Serial No. `135;7 10

(Cl. ISS-+2.03)

3 Claims.

The invention relates to a wire conveyor belt drive :and is directedspecincally to a structure in which helical coils at regular intervalsthroughout the length of the belt are so formed as to extend inwardlyfrom the inner face of the belt in such a manner as to provide means fordriving the belt directly from a driving roll designed to cooperate witha belt oi this particular formation.

As they have been constructed heretofore, it h-as-vbeenthought necessaryto provide a Woven wir-econveyer belt Withsome a -ia-ry means orattachment which would serve as the driving means. Where the drivingmeans is arranged Within the width of the belt proper, such auxiliarymeans has usually been in the form of separate bars or other meansextending; across the belt and suitably secured thereto. Driving meansof that character usually necessitate a substantial amount of addedlabor and material in the manufacture of the belt due to the fact thatthe driving elements are added after the completion of the `belt proper.Furthermore, such driving means usually detract from the appearance ofthe belt when used in loc-ations Where this is of any importance.

One of thev principal objects of the present in Vention therefore is theprovision of a Wire conveyer belt which is so constructed 'that certaincoils, spaced'at regular intervals throughout the length o'f the belt,are so formed that the-portions'of the turns `on the inner face of thebelt extend inwardly beyond the inner face to such an extent as to serveas the driving means for the'belt.

`lt is also well known to those who are familiar with 4woven wireIconveyer belts that such belts have a tendency to stretch when they arein-use, and'some means must be provided tocompensate for the consequentincrease in length. The usual practice in overcoming this difliculty isto provide theconveyer with belt tightening rolls, or tosupport thedriving rolls so that they can be adjustedbodily in order to take upany'slack inthe belt. Adjustments of this are not satisfactory, however,where a roll is used for driving the belt and the drive operatesdirectly upon the belt. This will be apparent from the fact that anincrease in the length of the beit results in an increase inthe distancebetween suocessive drivingelements on the belt, and this increase in distance is not compensated for by the usual belt tightener or by adjustingthe bearing supports fol-'the driving rolls. As a result of thisincrease inthe length of the belt, the driving -meanson the belt'is outof pitch .with the cooperating driving means on the driving roll sothat'the driving elements on the belt tend to climb outwardly in theusual grooves on the driving roll, .or the belt is forced to 'slip ontheroll to a slight extent, and undue strain is thereby thrown .upon thedriving elements which are thus required to drive the belt atany givenmoment.

'It is thereioreanother object of the invention to provide, in 'aWoven'wire bel-t conveyer structure, driving means integral with theYbelt Aand forming a part thereof, together with a driving roll havingcooperating driving means ythereon and so constructed that the roll maybe utilized as a belt tightener while maintaining'the driving means onthe roll in pitch with the driving means on the belt.

Other objects andfadvantages of theximprovements will be apparent fromthe following `description, taken with the accompanying drawing,wherein:

Fig. l. isa longitudinal sectional view, partly in elevation and takensubstantially on thedine I-I of Fig. 4, showing a portion ofza conveyorbelt structure having the present improvements incorporated therein;

Fig. 2is a bottom 4plan view ci a portion of .a conveyer belt embodyingYthe driving coils ofthe present improvement;

Fig. 3 is a detailed side elevational' view through one ofthe beltdriving coils, with parts thereof shown in section;

Fig. 4 isla longitudinal sectional vView through one end of the beltdriving roll, showing the same in contracted position;

Fig, 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the roll in expandedposition; and

Fig. 6 is an elevational view'of oneend of the driving roll, showing thecam'arrangementfor varying the diameter of the roll.

While the invention may be utilized with other forms of Wirefbelts, asdisclosedherein it isincorporatedin a belt ld which isma'de upof asuccession of coils of opposite twist. As will be seen from Fig. 2,right hand coils l I are arranged in overlapping relation with vlefthandcoils I2 and the coils are held in this position by means of hinge rodsI3 extending through the overlap'- ping bights M. As is well understoodin the art` each'hinge rod I3 is preferably welded to one of the coils,as indicated at l5, so as to resist endwise contraction'of the coils,and at the same time provide the hinging action which is necessary toproduce a flexible structure.

-At intervals throughout-thelengthfl of the belt driving coils IB areinterposed. Coils I8 are of a. twist to conform to the design of thebelt and they are so formed as to provide driving means for cooperatingwith the driving means on the improved driving rol-l I1. The drivingcoils i6 thus serve as connecting coils for adjacent belt sections madeof coils having such a formation as to provide substantially flat faceson the opposite sides of the belt as shown in Fig. 1. The driving coilsI6 are preferably so formed that the portions i8 of the turns in theouter face of the belt are substantially flush with the outer face andare of the same length as the corresponding portions i9 of the coilsforming the sections referred to above. The portions of the turns of thedriving coils on the opposite face of the belt are formed so as toextend inwardly a substantial distance from the inner face of the beltto thus .provide driving means integral with the belt and presenting onthe outer face of the belt an a-ppearance similar Ito the main coilswhich make up each belt section.

As disclosed herein the turns of the driving coils I6 are ofsubstantially triangular shape, but this particular .formation is notessential. In order to maintain their shape, a rigid stay bar 2l isinserted in each of the driving coils I6. The stay bars 2| arepreferably of such shape and size that one edge contacts with the.portions i8 of the turns of the driving coil while the opposite edgecontacts with the inner ends of portions 2l) of the turns as shown inFig. l. Stay bars 2l are preferably welded to the ends of the drivingcoils I'G, also to suitable intermediate turns if desired.

The expansible driving roll I1 which has been devised for cooperationwith the belt I0 described above is mounted on a drive shaft 22 whichmay be supported and driven in any suitable' manner. While va singledrive roll is shown, i-t will be `understood that additional rolls maybe used if desired. The opposite ends of the drive roll l1 are ofsimilar construction, and it will be understood that the disclosureherein is equally applicable to both ends thereof. As shown in Figs, 4and 5, a hub 23 is welded or otherwise secured to the drive shaft 22.Secured to and extending radially from the hub 23 are four equallyspaced arms 24 which serve to support the belt-engaging portions of theroll for movement in a radial direction with respect to the shaft 22.

Slidably mounted on the outer end of each radial arm 24 is a sleeve 25having a sectoral plate 26 secured thereto. A .pin 21 secured to eachplate 26 extends outwardly toward the end of the roll into a curved camslot 28 in a cam plate 29. Cam -plate 29 is Welded or otherwise fastenedto a hub 30 adjustably held on the shaft 22 by means of a set screw 3l.The arcuate portion 32 of each plate 26 is secured near one end of asegmental roll element 33. The segmental elements 33 .are curved to formthe surface of the roll, and they are spaced .from each other so as toprovide longitudinal channels 34 for receiving the inwa-rdly extendingportions 20 of the driving coils. As shown in Fig. l, the advancing edge35 of each segmental element 33 contacts with the extending portions 20of the driving coils in transmitting motion from the roll to the belt.

In case it becomes desirable to expand the driving roll to compensatefor stretching or an increase in length of the conveyer bel-t, this maybe easily and quickly done by merely loosening the set screws 3| andturning the hubs 30 on the drive shaft by a suitabie tool, auch as aSpanner wrench, and then securing hubs 30 in the desired position ofadjustment. As will be apparent from the disclosure, the rotation of hub30 carries with it the cam plate 29, and this in turn operates through.pins 21, sleeves 25, and plates 26 to move the segmental plates 33outwardly in a radial direction to provide the desired increase in thediameter of the driving roll,

As will be apparent from the structure of the improved driving roll, thelinear distance between the advancing edges 35, measured on the surfaceof the roll, increases when the roll is expanded, thereby taking care ofan increase in the length of the belt because of normal stretching whenit is in use. It will also be apparent that this increase in thedistance between the advancing edges 35 may be utilized to compensatefor the consequent increase in distance between the driving coils I6when the belt increases in length after a period of use. As a result,the driving elements of the roll may be kept in pitch with portions 20of the driving coils I6, and the roll driving elements 33 which are incontact with driving coils at any moment assume their proper share ofthe driving load.

While one form of the improved belt structure is -disclosed herein,together with one form of improved driving roll designed for use withsuch a belt, it will be .understood that the invention is not limited tothe precise construction and arrangement of the various parts as theyare shown and described. It will also be understood that the inventionis Iintended to include all such fonms of the improvements as comewithin the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A conveyer belt construction comprising a succession of sections madeof helical coils of wire successively connected in overlapping relationto form substantially flat inner and outer faces, a helical connectingcoil interposed between successive sections for connecting the same andhaving portions of the turns thereof extending inwardly a substantialdistance from the flat inner face of said sections to provide drivingmeans for the belt, and a belt driving roll com prising a plurality ofsegmental elements extending lengthwise thereof and spacedcircumferentially from each other to provide longitudinal channels toreceive said driving means, a radially adjustable support on each end ofsaid segmental sections, and cam means operatively connected to thesupport at each end of said roll for adjusting said segmental elementsradially of the roll.

2. A conveyer construction comprising a succession of sections rnade ofhelical coils of wire successively connected in overlapping relation toform substantially ilat inner and outer faces, a helical connecting coilinterposed between successive sections for connecting the same andhaving portions of the turns thereof extending inwardly a substantialdistance from the flat inner face of said sections to provide drivingmeans for the belt, and a stay bar extending through each of saidconnecting coils and engaging therewith to maintain the shape of saidconnecting coils.

3. A wire conveyer belt comprising a plurality of sections made ofhelical coils of wire successively connected in overlapping relation toform substantially flat faces, a helical coil of wire connecting theadjacent ends of successive sections and having the outer face thereofarranged in the plane of the outer face of the belt and having the innerface thereof extending inwardly a subs stantial distance from the innerface of the belt UNITED STATES PATENTS to provide driving means for thebelt, and a rigid Number Name Date stay bar extending through each ofsaid con- 522 427 Leggo July 3 1894 necting coils in contact with theturns of the con- 607322 Adams July 12 1898 necting coils and having theopposite end-s there- 5 742497 Rowand Oct 27 1903 of secured to theconnecting coils. 1 689556 Nichols Oct' 30 1928 RAYMOND J- GUBA-1,921,197 Larson Aug. a, 1933 2,370,954 Guba, Mar. 6, 1945 REFERENCESCITED 10 FOREIGN PATENTS The following references are of record in theNumber Country Date flle of this ypaltent: 92,186 Germany July 2, 1897

